Comparative quality of life assessment among conscripts, residing in urban and rural areas of the Orenburg region of Russia

Relevance. Armed conflicts persist in post-Soviet countries, the Middle East, and other regions of the world. Russian Armed Forces are at the safeguards of national security. However, to staff the army and navy with young recruits, both sufficient conscription resources, as well as aptitude for military service are required among conscripts. The aim is to assess the quality of life among conscripts residing in urban and rural areas of the Orenburg region of Russia who were preparing perform military service. Methods. The study was carried out in the Orenburg region – a large agricultural and industrial center. From April to June 2025, a social survey among randomly sampled conscripts was conducted during conscription pod at the Orenburg Military Commissariat. Group 1 included 500 conscripts residing in urban areas; Group 2 included 500 conscripts from rural areas. Social and demographic characteristics, as well health-related quality of life was studied using the SF-36 test. Student’s t-test was used to assess the similarities / differences between the groups. Results and analysis. The survey showed that a significant part of recruits was aged 18–20 years. Most conscripts demonstrated high intellectual aptitude. In group 1, only 3.5 % of urban residents failed to complete secondary education, compared to 14.4 % in Group 2 (p < 0.001). In general, the conscripts were brought up in financially sustainable families. In group 2, 21 % of conscripts come from families with the aggregate average monthly income per family member up to 10,000 rubles/month, which is below the national subsistence minimum. Most conscripts (70 % in group 1; 98 % in group 2) come from the families where parents are employed in the industry or agriculture. The majority of conscripts were brought up in two-parent families. In group 2, a statistically significant number of conscripts come from large families (3 children and over), compared to group 1 (p < 0.001). Almost all conscripts in group 2 (97 %) considered themselves generally healthy, corresponding to 27.7 % in group 1 (p < 0.001). The survey reported that 55.3 % of conscripts in group 1 had a record of chronic diseases or physical disabilities that further medical examination failed to confirm. According to the SF-test, all conscripts reported high health-related quality of life. Group 2 recruits yielded higher average scores across all 8 scales, including the overall general and emotional health score. In group 2, the SF-36 scores for general health showed consistency with the survey results. Conscripts residing in rural areas demonstrated elevated patriotic sentiments about military service. A substantial number of conscripts living in urban areas expressed preference for civil service as an alternative option. Conclusion. The obtained findings regarding the education, living conditions, upbringing, and quality of life among the promising defenders of the Russian land were considered in the distribution of conscripts across various divisions and types of the Russian Armed Forces, thus allowing recruits to adapt faster to the military service conditions.